Max Kamin-Cross's bloghttp://www.scarleteen.com/blog/max_kamincross
Scarleteen has been committed to delivering the best progressive, inclusive, accurate and holistic teen sexuality education on the net since 1998.enWhen reproductive rights are intertwined with state's rightshttp://www.scarleteen.com/blog/max_kamincross/2011/07/27/when_reproductive_rights_are_intertwined_with_states_rights
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" itemprop="articleBody"> <p><em>This piece, written by me (Max Kamin-Cross), was originally <a href="http://abortiongang.org/2011/07/when-reproductive-rights-are-intertwined-with-state-rights/">posted</a> on <a href="http://abortiongang.org/">The Abortion Gang</a>.</em></p>
<p>When someone says the term “battleground state,” Mississippi is not one that comes to mind. But in 2012, that’s exactly what Mississippi will be. The Republican-dominated state is the focus of Personhood USA’s next attack, and this time it’s about more than <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#abortion" title="A procedure to intentionally end a pregnancy before a birth. Miscarriage is also sometimes called &quot;spontaneous abortion,&quot; even though it is usually not intended.
" class="lexicon-term">abortion</a>.</p>
<p>Personhood USA has become well known over the last several years in the <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#reproductive_rights" title="Legal or practical rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The right to choose when and if to become a parent for ourselves or to become or remain pregnant or not are some kinds of reproductive rights." class="lexicon-term">reproductive rights</a> world for their work on attempting to pass “personhood” legislation to get embryos, zygotes, and fetsues recognized as full, social security card-carrying people. In most cases they put this personhood legislation to a vote in a normal election by adding an amendment or initiative to the ballot (which are called ballot measures). Just like we vote into office our elected officials, these amendments and initiatives are put to a vote.</p>
<p>A “normal” personhood ballot measure’s goals are to do a couple of key things: First, it defines life as starting at <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#conception" title="The onset of pregnancy, marked by implantation of the blastocyst into the endometrium (the lining of the uterus)." class="lexicon-term">conception</a>, and second, it ensures that every single “person” or living thing– and remember life now starts at conception—has the same rights. This means that miscarriages can become the subject of murder investigations and most forms of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and stem cells research become illegal. Of course, this also makes abortion illegal. If a majority of voters approves this type of personhood ballot measure, it becomes law—it’s important to note that this has not happened yet.</p>
<p>Every state has different laws regarding how initiatives and amendments can get on the ballot. Each state requires a different number of signatures from voters showing support for the measure. Some states don’t even allow types of ballot measures, and Mississippi is one of those states.</p>
<p>Ballot measures in Mississippi may not be used to alter the state constitution’s Bill of Rights, but Personhood USA’s ballot initiative (officially named Initiative 26) <a href="http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/02/08/mississippi-personhood-ballot-violates-amendment-rules">would do exactly that</a>. If approved it would alter the Bill of Rights and re-define the term person to include “every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof.”</p>
<p>The ACLU <a href="http://www.wlbt.com/story/12815990/lawsuit-filed-against-state-targets-personhood-initiative?redirected=true">filed a lawsuit</a> to have it struck from the ballot, but it was overturned by a local judge, Malcolm Harrison, in a political ruling. He was up for re-election and the measure had been receiving support in his district, so he overturned the lawsuit. Ironically, he lost the election, but the damage had already been done. The ACLU and Planned Parenthood have appealed to the Mississippi State Supreme Court to rule on this issue and are currently waiting for a verdict, but here’s where it really gets tricky. Mississippi’s Republican-run Supreme Court’s verdict could mean a lot. Not only will their verdict set a precedent, but it will also affect another ballot measure.</p>
<p>Mississippi Eminent Domain Amendment (or Initiative 31) is a ballot measure that would restrict the government’s ability to take private property and transfer it to a separate person or private business. If passed, it would amend the Mississippi Bill of Rights, the same docment that the Personhood ballot measure would impact. Initiative 31 is also the subject of a <a href="http://leadercall.com/statenews/x1697311222/Eminent-domain-amendment-attacked-in-lawsuit">legal battle</a>. This means that if the Republican-dominated court strikes down the Eminent Domain Amendment (which they are against) they will also be forced to strike down the Personhood Amendment (which they support).</p>
<p>This legal conundrum goes well beyond any issue of reproductive rights. If the measure is kept on the ballot, it will make a legal precedent that ballot measures may be used to alter the State Bill of Rights. This could have unheard of long term consequences with future ballot measures. Hopefully the court is able to look past their anti-abortion views and see that taking both initiatives off of the Mississippi ballot is the right thing to do for their state.</p>
</div></div></div><meta itemprop="name" content="When reproductive rights are intertwined with state&#039;s rights" id="md1" /><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-3 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/mississippi_2011">Mississippi 2011</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/abortion_rights">abortion rights</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/law">law</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/personhood">personhood</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/politics">politics</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/reproductive_rights">reproductive rights</a></div></div></div>Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:13:19 +0000Max Kamin-Cross3927 at http://www.scarleteen.comhttp://www.scarleteen.com/blog/max_kamincross/2011/07/27/when_reproductive_rights_are_intertwined_with_states_rights#commentsWhat’s the deal with parental involvement laws?http://www.scarleteen.com/blog/max_kamincross/2011/06/22/what%E2%80%99s_the_deal_with_parental_involvement_laws
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" itemprop="articleBody"> <p>If you’re anything like me you probably put off things you don’t want to do for a long time. Especially those things that I really don’t want to do, like my math homework. I doubt that there was one day this year that I actually had my math homework done at home, I always ended up doing that morning before school or even right before class started. This type of procrastination gets even worse when it comes to things that I know I could get in trouble for. There was this teacher I had a few years ago and anytime you didn’t do well on one of her tests she would require that you have your parents sign the test within a week, to show that they saw your grade, and if you didn’t have them sign it she would call them just to make sure that they knew what grade you got. If that ever happened to me, I would always put off showing it to my parents for as long as possible so I would usually show it to them on the 6th day. Even though I knew their reaction wouldn’t be any different about it between the day I got it back and a week later, I still would put it off because I didn’t want to show them. This seems to be a pretty normal and harmless behavior for most teens, but what if I was putting off something more important than a test grade?</p>
<p>What if I needed to tell my parents I was having an <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#abortion" title="A procedure to intentionally end a pregnancy before a birth. Miscarriage is also sometimes called &quot;spontaneous abortion,&quot; even though it is usually not intended.
" class="lexicon-term">abortion</a>? Well I wouldn’t (I’m male) but this is a reality for teens around the globe. States all over America, and countries around the world, are enacting what’s called “Parental Involvement Laws.” These laws are split into two categories, parental notification and parental <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#consent" title="To agree to do something or give permission. In the context of sex, a person is giving full consent/is consenting when they freely and actively agree to do something sexual with someone else; however, the person still has the right to change their mind at any point. A person is NOT consenting if they do not actively agree, have been forced or pressured in some way or are in a state where they are incapable of full consent (such as when asleep, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or below the age of consent).
" class="lexicon-term">consent</a>. Parental notification laws require that one or both parents are notified that their teen is having an abortion, usually a day or two before a doctor terminates the <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#pregnancy" title="The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the uterus. Medically, someone is considered to be regnant when an egg has been fertilized by sperm, cells divide, and the fertilized egg is implanted within the lining of the uterus." class="lexicon-term">pregnancy</a>. Parental consent laws on the other hand, force the minor to get written consent from their parents allowing them to have an abortion.</p>
<p>The goal of these laws are to get parents more involved in the decision making process. The majority of teens actually do end up telling at least one of their parents without the law telling them too though, including 90% of teens under the age of 15, and those that don’t have a good reason for it. Over 20% of teens who choose not to tell their parents do so because they fear being kicked out of the house and almost 10% have been abused in the past and fear that they will be beaten if their parents found out.<br />
These laws are not only unnecessary, but they are also dangerous. In years after parental involvement laws have been passed, second trimester abortions have risen in the affected area upwards of 20%. As a result of these laws, teens are waiting longer to get the procedure because they “put off” talking to a parent; similar how we teens put off things like homework. The later an abortion is performed, the more dangerous it becomes.</p>
<p>In most cases, parental involvement laws have something included called judicial bypass. This means that a minor can go to a judge to ask for an abortion, if they don’t feel that they can tell their parents for fear of <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#abuse" title="Purposeful harm or mistreatment of another person, which can be verbal, emotional, physical or sexual. An ongoing pattern or cycle of such mistreatment or harm can characterize an abusive relationship.
" class="lexicon-term">abuse</a> or other retaliation. This process is long and complicated, and prolongs the time before the minor can terminate her pregnancy. Another issue with judicial bypass is the possible lack of privacy. Though technically everyone involved in the process is supposed to keep the minor’s <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#identity" title="The defining character or personality of an individual; who we feel like we are as a person. Identity is often used to talk about sexual identity -- who we are as sexual people, which can include things like our sexual orientation, our preferences and things we like and want in sex and sexuality, our sexual politics -- or gender identity, who we feel we are and identify as (even if only to ourselves) in terms of our gender." class="lexicon-term">identity</a> confidential, this doesn’t always happen. I recently talked to one woman who lives in a small town in the Midwest who said that the courthouse has copies of the local high school’s year book in the lobby. This way if a teen come into court to get a judicial bypass, a bystander can look up who she is in the yearbooks.</p>
<p>This coming election year, in the United States and other countries around the world, parental involvement laws will be on the ballot. When you go to the polls, please remember that these laws do nothing more than hurt teens in a time of need. With your help we can make basic <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#reproductive_rights" title="Legal or practical rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The right to choose when and if to become a parent for ourselves or to become or remain pregnant or not are some kinds of reproductive rights." class="lexicon-term">reproductive rights</a> available to every person in the world.</p>
</div></div></div><meta itemprop="name" content="What’s the deal with parental involvement laws?" id="md2" /><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-3 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/abortion">abortion</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/abortion_access">abortion access</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/abortion_rights">abortion rights</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/decision">decision</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/healthcare">healthcare</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/judicial_bypass">Judicial Bypass</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/law">law</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/minor">minor</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/parents">parents</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/parental_consent">parental consent</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/parental_involvement">parental involvement</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/parental_notification">parental notification</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/politics">politics</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/privacy">privacy</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/reproductive_healthcare">reproductive healthcare</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/reproductive_rights">reproductive rights</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/youth_rights">youth rights</a></div></div></div>Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:38:14 +0000Max Kamin-Cross3806 at http://www.scarleteen.comhttp://www.scarleteen.com/blog/max_kamincross/2011/06/22/what%E2%80%99s_the_deal_with_parental_involvement_laws#commentsActivism with Maxhttp://www.scarleteen.com/blog/max_kamincross/2011/05/31/activism_with_max
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" itemprop="articleBody"> <p><img src="/sites/files/scarleteen/images/activismwmax.jpg" alt="Activism with Max!" class="img_assist" align="right"style="width:175px;" />Hey everyone, and welcome to <strong>Activism with Max!</strong></p>
<p>You might have seen me around Scarleteen in <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/blog/scarleteen_guest_author/2010/10/30/sex_ed_and_bleach">the past</a> but if you haven’t, I’ll give you a quick background on me.</p>
<p>I’m Max Kamin-Cross, and I’m 17 years old from a Conservative area of Western New York. I’ve been working in <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#reproductive_rights" title="Legal or practical rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The right to choose when and if to become a parent for ourselves or to become or remain pregnant or not are some kinds of reproductive rights." class="lexicon-term">reproductive rights</a> and education for about a year now. Currently I write my own purely politics blog called <a href="http://maskosmf.net/">MasKosMF.net</a> and write for a bunch of other awesome organizations. I also volunteer at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in Washington DC, and at my local Planned Parenthood. I love to ski in the winter and rock climb in the summer, and of course lobby and blog all year round.</p>
<p>I first talked to Heather a couple months ago about having a more permanent place on Scarleteen, but we weren’t sure what that would be. We started thinking about what could possibly make this amazing website even better, and this is what we came up with.</p>
<p>Scarleteen has become this truly supportive and educational community; all you have to do is skim over the <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/forum/ultimatebb.php">forums</a>and see this community in action. Scarleteen has helped millions of people around the world learn about their reproductive rights including safe sex, contraceptives, and hundreds of other topics. Unfortunately, many of these rights are being challenged around the world.</p>
<p>Every year bills get introduced in many states here in the US, along with in the House, to limit sex education or to make it harder for a woman to make vital choices about her <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/glossary#pregnancy" title="The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the uterus. Medically, someone is considered to be regnant when an egg has been fertilized by sperm, cells divide, and the fertilized egg is implanted within the lining of the uterus." class="lexicon-term">pregnancy</a>. This year alone, more than 60 anti-choice laws have been passed on the state level. These laws work to limit a women’s right to make choice about her body, which is something we at Scarleteen are against. We believe that every person should be allowed access to factual information, and be allowed to make their own choices. Many times when government leaders start to implement laws such as these, or even more extreme ones that limit comprehensive sex-ed, we may feel useless or unsure of what to do to try and stop this. The government is a big and scary thing and sometimes it feels like our opinion doesn’t matter—this is where I come in.</p>
<p>I’ve been working in politics for as long as I can remember, since I was 10 years old actually. In the past 7 years I’ve worked on tons of different campaigns ranging from local elections, to a variety of state elections, and most recently I volunteered on the <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-25/kathy-hochul-wins-ny-26-thanks-to-medicare-scare-tactics/">NY-26 special election</a>. Though I currently go to high school, to the dismay of my teachers, I spend much of my free time working with different campaigns and organizations around the country.</p>
<p>Starting next week, every other week or so, I’ll be sharing with you one of these campaigns or organizations that are devoted to stopping unjust and unfair laws and I'll include a way you can help. If the Scarleteen community as a whole rises up to help protect our civil and reproductive rights, I believe that we can stop these and other laws from ever being even discussed again.</p>
<p>If there is a specific topic or organization you would like me to cover, feel free to email me at <a href="mailto:Max.Kamin.Cross@gmail.com?Subject=Activism%20with%20Max"> Max.Kamin.Cross@gmail.com</a> or tweet me <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/maxkamincross">@MaxKaminCross</a>.</p>
</div></div></div><meta itemprop="name" content="Activism with Max" id="md3" /><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-3 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/activism">activism</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/activism_with_max">Activism with Max</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/max_kamincross">Max Kamin-Cross</a></div></div></div>Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:21:58 +0000Max Kamin-Cross3758 at http://www.scarleteen.comhttp://www.scarleteen.com/blog/max_kamincross/2011/05/31/activism_with_max#comments